A father who fought a long-running legal battle over taking his child on a term-time holiday was today found guilty over the unauthorised trip.

Jon Platt was convicted of failing to ensure his child regularly attended school after a court heard clearing him would ‘undermine parliament’ and go ‘against public interest’ following a Supreme Court ruling.

Today, during a hearing at Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court, magistrate Jeannie Walker said: ‘The circumstances of this case fall squarely into that breach of school rules.’

Platt was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £2,020 costs.

He revealed outside court that he had spent ‘close to £30,000′ fighting the legal battle, but will not appeal the magistrates’ decision.

Platt estimates nearly £250,000 has been spent in total on this case.

Jon Platt refused to pay a £120 fine (Picture: PA)

He said: ‘This is the end for me now, this has gone on for far too long and far too much money has been spent by me and the taxpayer.

‘I’ve spent close to £30,000, a Freedom of Information request found £140,000 has been spent by the taxpayer, but if you include the Supreme Court legal costs I think it isn’t far off a quarter of a million.

Paul Greatorex QC outlined his case for an ‘abuse of process’ argument by saying Platt’s daughter had an attendance level between 90 and 95 per cent which the school deemed as ‘satisfactory’.

Mr Greatorex QC said documents Platt, who runs a PPI firm, received from the school were ‘completely vague’ and it was not made clear that if he took her on an unauthorised holiday he would receive a fixed penalty notice and be prosecuted if he did not pay it.

He also said it was ‘grossly unfair’ to ‘criminalise’ Platt despite being told his daughter’s attendance was ‘satisfactory’ and that a holiday would not change that.